[ Editor’s note: please substitute the Winter Solstice holiday of your choice for “Christmas” above; I’m not religious so I don’t give a hoot which one you go with, so long as you’re happy, okay? ]

This short blog post is, in part, a please for you to explore (and introduce others to) the near infinite expanse of the wine world. It’s also an excuse to post some 2012 family holiday photos of Mrs. Dudette and the Dudette-lette (more than a few of you have commented over the past year that you want to see more of them… and the dog… sorry I couldn’t get that over-sized mini-moose in there this year, but we did the holiday photos ourselves, and having an intelligence-challenged, 115lb dog on the loose when you’ve got an SLR on a timer and tripod is just a recipe for having to buy yourself a new SLR for the holidays!). It’s also a sincere wish from me that, whatever Winter Solstice holiday you happen to celebrate, the season is treating you warmly, safely, and well!

The recent tragic events directly impacting the lives of dozens of families in Connecticut have reminded almost all of us – and particularly those of us who are parents – that we all take that warmth, safety and well-being for granted far too often. And so the family photos, psychoanalyzing myself for a second here, are probably my way of saying that I don’t take that for granted (at least not today). I know I’ll get weak eventually, but I can honestly say that I’ll be trying harder from here on out…

That’s a true gift, the kind that cannot ever be taken away: the joy of experimentation, the hurts-so-good shock of seeing just how big the wine world is, and the visceral thrill of realizing that no matter how deep you go into the wine geek forest, there will always, always, always be caches left unexplored, exciting lessons to be learned, beauty to be found.

So here’s to you, here’s to family, here’s to the season, and here’s to daring to be different!

You nailed it, Joe. Every year we pick out a few wines for friends that they wouldn't otherwise seek out for themselves. I guess we're doing someone right, since more people not-so-subtlely ask to be added to our list with every passing year!

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